It has been confirmed that Iranian jets opened fire on an unmanned U.S.drone last week raising fresh concerns within the Obama administration about Iranian military aggression.

A Predator drone operating off the coast of Kuwait, in international waters, was fired upon by two Su-25 Iranian fighter planes said George Little, the Pentagon press secretary.

The incident occurred on November 1st at 4.15 a.m. eastern time and wasn't revealed publicly because the drone was on a classified mission.

Scroll Down for Video

A MQ-1 Predator - which was attacked last week over the Persian Gulf by two Iranian jet fighters

The Predator drone was intercepted by the Iranian jets 16 miles off of the coast of Kuwait

The fighter jets unleashed rocket fire at the drone according to Mr. Little but the Predator was not hit - although the Pentagon's believes the volley was not meant as warning shots.

Under Fire: The Unammned Predator Drone

The MQ-1 Predator is an unammed aerial vehicle used primarily by the United States Air Force and the Central Intelligence agency

It was primarily designed to be used for reconnaissance and forward observational roles but has been upgraded to carry two AGM-114 Hellfire missiles or other munitions

The craft is powered by a propeller and can fly up to 740 km to a target and then loiter overhead for 14-hours before having to make the journey back

Since 2001 the Predator drone has become symbolic with operations within Afghanistan and the USAF currently posseses 75 MQ-1's which cost $4 million each to build

Predator drones can be controlled from a different continent to which they are operating in thanks to the introduction of advanced communication satellites

An Iraqi MiG-25 shot down a Predator performing reconnaissance over the no fly zone in Iraq on December 23, 2002. This was the first time in history a conventional aircraft and a drone had engaged each other in combat

During the Iraqi insurgency armed Predators participated in 242 separate raids and helped 132 U.S. troops in combat situations

In addition to Afghanistan the drones have seen action in Pakistan, Bosnia, Serbia, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, and Somalia

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

Share

Two U.S. officials speaking to CNN explained the jets were part of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps force, which has been more confrontational than regular Iranian military forces.

The MQ-1 Predator drone which was flying
16 miles off the coast captured the incident on its still and
video cameras which according to officials show the two SU-25s flying
towards the Predator firing their on-board guns.

Initially, U.S. military intelligence
analysts were not sure if the Iranian pilots were unable to hit the
drone out of lack of skill or whether they missed on purpose.

'Iran today has never been closer to a nuclear weapons capability,' said Romney during the campaign.

'And it has never acted less deterred by America.'

The
President however has preferred to stick with sanctions against Iran,
but in a speech to the United Nations on Sept. 25, he repeated his
position that the United States would work to prevent Iran from gaining
nuclear weapons.

The Iranians have previous with American military spy drones.

In December last year, the Islamic Republic claimed to have shot down one of the United States most sophisticated spy planes - the stealth RQ-170 Sentinel drone.

The Iranian military paraded the craft in a public gym as the American's denied the unammned plane had indeed been shot down.

A Russian built Su-25 fighter jet similar to the Iranian planes that attacked the U.S. Predator drone 16 miles to the east of Kuwait over international airspace

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,listens to a technician during his visit of the Natanz Uranium Enrichment Facility some 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of the capital Tehran

Drone: Iran claims to have shot down a USAF RQ-170 Sentinel which was on a
surveillance mission last December

According to Little, the U.S. drone was conducting 'routine surveillance' and that the Iranian jets tried twice to shoot down the craft.

Asked about how the U.S. could respond, he said: 'We have a wide range of options from diplomatic to military.'

He would not be draw on whether they were actually plans for a military response and refused to be drawn into speculation around the attack being considered an act of war.

The Pentagon announced the brazen attack as the Obama administration imposed another round of sanctions on Iranian officials and entities.

They are the first sanctions since President Obama's re-lection on Tuesday and according to the Treasury Department are 'related to the Iranian government's human rights abuses, its support of terrorism and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.'

'This is the first time a UAV has been fired upon by an Iranian aircraft,' Little said, using the abbreviation for unmanned aerial vehicle. 'The United States has communicated to the Iranians that we will continue to do surveillance flights over international waters over the Arabian Gulf.'

The United States conveyed the message through Swiss diplomats, who have represented U.S. interests in Tehran since Washington broke off diplomatic relations.

U.S. President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney had differing views about how to deal with Iranian nuclear ambitions